USE OF HEAT RECOVERABLE COUPLING TECHNOLOGY IN SHIPYARD PRODUCTION

Skilled pipe welders and brazers are in short supply. Expensive training efforts have failed to supply an adequate number of qualified personnel for shipbuilding programs. Field welded and/or brazed pipe and tubing pose numerous installation problems. The recent introduction of heat recoverable pipe couplings into shipyard production methods provides a means to help alleviate some of these problems. NITINOL, a “shape memory” alloy, was selected for evaluation of its applicability to shipboard piping systems. NITINOL couplings are cryogenically cooled, expanded, installed on a pipe joint and allowed to warm where they contract over the pipe forming a high-pressure sealed joint. The evaluation indicated potential labor savings warranting incorporation in ongoing contracts. Using Project Management, a major change in methodology was introduced into production late in two major shipbuilding contracts without the significant problems normally associated with a change.